IELTS Life Skills B1 sample test 7
Talk about your journey to work and a problem you solved, listen to two messages about a lost bag and a college course, and plan how to help a new family.
How to use this test. The real test is taken with an examiner and one other candidate, and it lasts up to 22 minutes. Practise with a friend if you can: one of you is the partner. If you are alone, speak your answers out loud and use the buttons to hear the examiner and your partner. The listening task is marked for you. The speaking tasks are not marked, so compare yourself with the example answers.
Questions with your partner
3 minutesThe examiner first asks each of you your name, where you come from and how long you have lived here. Then you and your partner ask each other questions for two minutes.
The examiner says
Find out from each other about your journey to work or college.
If you stop talking, the examiner may ask
- How do you get to work or college?
- How long does the journey take?
- What do you do during the journey?
- Would you like to live closer to your work? Why? Why not?
See an example conversation
- YouHow do you get to work?
- PartnerI take two buses, and it takes about fifty minutes. It's a long time, but I read on the bus. How about you?
- YouI cycle. It only takes fifteen minutes, and it's free.
- PartnerIsn't it dangerous on the main road?
- YouThere's a cycle path for most of the way, so I feel quite safe.
Talk for one and a half minutes
7 minutesYou get a topic and one minute to prepare. You then talk for about a minute and a half while your partner listens, and your partner asks you three questions. After that you swap: you listen to your partner and ask three questions.
Your topic
Tell your partner about a time you had a problem and how you solved it.
You could talk about: what the problem was, when it happened, what you did, what you learned.
Then your partner asks you three questions
A real partner asks about what you said. These are the kind of questions to expect. Answer each one out loud.
- How did you manage without money for three days?
- Did you thank the bus driver?
- Do you keep your documents somewhere different now?
See an example answer for your topic
I'm going to tell you about the week after I arrived in this country, when I lost my wallet. It had my bank card, my residence permit and all the money I had. I realised it was missing when I tried to pay in a supermarket, and I felt sick. First I went back to the bus stop, but it wasn't there. Then a woman at the supermarket told me to phone the bank immediately and stop the card, which I did. The next day I went to the police station and reported it. I was sure I would never see it again, but three days later the bus company phoned me. A driver had found it under a seat, and nothing was missing. I learned two things: to stay calm, and that people here are more helpful than I expected.
Now you listen and ask three questions
Your partner tells you about a hobby they would like to start. Listen without reading, then ask three questions about what you heard.
See what your partner said and three example questions
I would really like to learn to play the guitar. My father played when I was a child, and I remember him singing in the evenings. I never learned, because I was always busy with school and then work. Last month I saw a cheap guitar in a second-hand shop, and I almost bought it. There's a free beginners' class at the community centre on Thursday evenings, so I'm thinking of joining. I'd like to be able to play a few songs for my children.
- What kind of music would you like to play?
- Did you keep any of your father's songs?
- Is Thursday evening a good time for you?
Listen to two messages
5 minutesYou hear two short recordings. First you say what each one is about, choosing from three options. Then you hear both again and answer two questions about one of them. Here you answer the questions on both.
You hear two messages left on the phone.
Listen to both recordings. What is each message about? A lost bag, a college course or a train delay?
Plan together, then discuss
7 minutesFirst you and your partner plan something together for two minutes. Then you talk together about a related topic for about four minutes. The examiner only joins in if the conversation stops.
The planning task
A family from abroad has just moved into your building. They have two young children and do not speak much English.
How can you help them?
- show them the local shops
- tell them about schools and doctors
- invite them for a meal
Plan and decide
- when to visit them
- who else could help
- what to tell them first
See an example conversation
- YouHow do you think we can help them? I think schools and doctors are the most important, because they have young children.
- PartnerI agree, but they might feel nervous with strangers. Inviting them for a meal first could help them relax.
- YouThat's a lovely idea. We could invite them this Saturday and tell them about the school then.
- PartnerWho else could help? Mrs Okafor on the ground floor works at the school, so she could explain how to register.
- YouGreat. So we agree: a meal on Saturday, with Mrs Okafor, and we'll show them the shops another day.
Then talk together
Talk to each other about helping people who are new in a country.
If you stop talking, the examiner may ask
- What was most difficult for you when you first arrived?
- Who helped you most in your first months?
- What should every new arrival know in their first week?
- Is it easier to settle in a city or in a small town? Why?
Check yourself
You get a pass or a fail, not a band. Ask yourself whether you did these things:
- I asked my partner questions, and did not only answer.
- I kept talking for the full minute and a half on my topic.
- I gave reasons for my opinions, with words like because and so.
- I talked about the past and the future, not only the present.
- I listened to my partner and replied to what they said.
- I understood the main point and the details of both messages.